Barriers to Delivering Concussion Education: Identifying Opportunities for Change Through the Capability,...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Athletic trainers (ATs) are crucial in managing athlete concussions.
• Implementing expert recommendations for concussion care-seeking behavior is vital.
• Understanding barriers ATs face is key to improving care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and describe barriers athletic trainers encounter when implementing expert recommendations for athlete concussion care-seeking behavior.
• To analyze these barriers using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COM-B) model.

Main Methods:

• An electronic survey was distributed to 9,997 ATs in secondary schools and collegiate institutions via the National Athletic Trainers' Association.
• 365 complete responses were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinal regression.
• Barriers were quantitatively measured using a validated COM-B survey with Likert-type items.

Main Results:

• ATs reported the most significant barriers related to opportunity, followed by capability and motivation constructs.
• Working in secondary schools, compared to universities, predicted greater barriers in psychological capability, social opportunity, physical opportunity, and automatic motivation.
• ATs at NCAA-affiliated institutions demonstrated higher physical and psychological capability than those at non-NCAA institutions.

Conclusions:

• Athletic trainers are motivated and capable of improving concussion care-seeking behaviors but face significant environmental and systemic barriers.
• Organizational support, including opportunities for concussion education delivery, is essential.
• Targeted resources, such as toolkits and protected time, are needed for secondary schools and non-NCAA institutions to mitigate identified barriers.